Second Syndrome
by XIIIAnonymous
Summary: Being the computer geek he was, carpal tunnel was inevitable. But the other syndrome he picked up along the way? Not so anticipated. Mikida, written for Hoshi-Shikyo on deviantart.
1. Part 1

"Dude, what's wrong with your fingers?"

Mikado looked up, startled, as Masaomi continued to stare at him quizzically. "What?"

"Watch, they'll do it again soon-"The fingers of Mikado's left hand twitched violently. "See?"

"Oh, that." The black-haired boy said, relieved. "I think it's called carpal tunnel."

"Carpal tunnel? The hell is that?"

Returning to his typing, Mikado laughed. "You know, when you type a lot or something. Your fingers get jumpy. I get it a lot, don't worry."

"Whoa, whoa." Masaomi frowned in concern. "Do you really have that much homework that you're typing so much?"

Mikado hesitated, pausing in tapping at the keys as his hand jolted again. "It's not…homework, exactly."

"Oh, I know! One of those chat rooms, right? Man, you need a break!"

"It's fine, Kida-kun." Insisted Mikado. "I just-"

"No no, say no more." Masaomi waved a dismissive hand at his friend and pushed the homework he'd been 'working on' aside. "We're going out!"

Sighing, Mikado knew it was useless to argue. "Where?"

"Somewhere really really relaxing. With really hot girls." The blonde decided; he was eyeing Mikado's spasming digits warily, as if they might suddenly lash out at him.

"Fine, fine."

And after a long search for Masaomi's hoodie (he somehow managed to lose it every time he came over), the two teenagers were on their way.

"Ah, so, relaxing places. I know this really cool park out east from here—oh, but there's also that giant fountain I showed you the other day; you remember it, right?"

Mikado could barely listen as his friend chattered on, feeling shy and self conscious with his fingers out in public. He really hoped that people weren't looking, since even when he put his hand in his pocket you could still see it…

"Hey." A warm palm slid over his own, clenching around his fingers and holding them down gently.

"K- Kida-kun?"

"This way, your fingers won't twitch, right?" Masaomi said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Is it a bad idea?"

"No, I just…w-won't people stare?"

Chuckling, Masaomi ducked around a group of businessmen. "So? We're just holding hands."

_But we're both boys, _Mikado wanted to protest. But something about the blonde's affectionate palm wrapped around his own didn't feel too bad. In fact…it felt kind of nice.

They walked in comfortable silence, ignoring the few odd glances they received, Mikado's digits giving feeble little shudders every now and then. It was a few more minutes, then a few more blocks, until the dark-haired male noticed:

"Ah, Kida-kun, my hand isn't twitching anymore."

"Okay," said Masaomi amiably, readjusting their hold on each other, "but can we stay like this, though?"

Mikado chortled softly; were best friends supposed to do this and feel warm inside like he did? He almost wanted to kick himself for being such a girl.

"Sure, um, Masaomi."

"…Hey, you just called me by my first name, Mikado! Wow!"

"I-Is that bad?"

"Nope, we're best friends; we _should_ call each other like that!"

Mikado stared inconspicuously at their intertwined fingers.

"If you say so, uh…Masaomi."

"Ah, you did it again!" The blonde squeezed Mikado's hand joyfully. Smiling, Mikado looked away, wearing a slight flush.

Because when Masaomi was happy, he was happy.


	2. Part 2

"Ah...uh, Masaomi?"

"Yes, Mikado?"

"What are you doing…exactly?"

"Eh? I'm tying your shoes, of course!"

"I see that, but why…?"

Masaomi finished up on the left shoe with a flourish, moving on to the other casually. Mikado had to crane his neck downwards to looks his friend in the eyes. "Imagine this, Mikado- you're walking along, wishing you could just catch a glimpse of that special girl, when suddenly! You hear the sweet voice of our wonderful, erotic-"

"Masaomi!"

"-Anri-chan. You spin around joyfully, taking a step towards your beloved, but alas! You trip after stepping on your shoelace! How uncool! As your best friend, I can't let this happen to you, Mikado."

The dark-haired student frowned as Masaomi stood, admiring his (messily) double-knotted handiwork. "Masaomi, I don't think that would happen."

"Knowing you it would~!" sang the blonde, grabbing Mikado's hand and taking off running. "Now, let's go hit on some chicks~!"

Stumbling along behind Masaomi, Mikado instinctively gripped the hand holding his tighter (they were holding hands again, he noticed vaguely) as they headed for the stairs to one of the many walkways that crossed over the busy streets of Ikebukuro. It was only once they were halfway up that Mikado's gaze slid down to Masaomi's shoes.

"Masaomi, your shoelaces are-"

"Ryugamine-kun? Kida-kun?"

Mikado turned, startled, to Anri's quiet call. Eyes lighting up gleefully, Masaomi whirled around, already beginning to dash back down the sidewalk.

"If it isn't our erotic-…!"

"Masaomi!" Mikado said, but it wasn't as much directed towards the 'erotic' comment as it was to the fact that Masaomi had, ironically, tripped after stepping on his untied shoelace. He sat in a ruffled heap at the bottom of the stairs. "Are you all right?"

Anri hurried to help him stand, eyes wide behind the frames of her glasses. "I…I'm sorry, Kida-kun!"

The blonde seemed to recover from the shock. "Ah, worry not, Anri-chan! I was merely so captivated by your beauty that I just…" He trailed off abruptly, wincing.

"What's wrong?" asked an anxious Mikado.

"I appear to have sprained or twisted or done something to my ankle." Masaomi announced matter-of-factly. "But don't worry; I can still stand on it."

"But Kida-kun, you're putting all your weight on your other leg…"

"…Alright, Anri-chan. Maybe it's just a little uncomfortable."

"Masaomi, should I help you back to your house, or maybe even the hospital…?"

"My house is fine, Mikado. Ah, this is embarrassing! Did any girls besides Anri-chan see that? Did they?"

Mikado sighed, carefully placing an arm around his friend so that he could lean on him if need be. "Sorry, Sonohara-san, but we'll have to talk to you later…"

"That's alright, Ryugamine-kun," Anri said softly. With one quick glance at Masaomi, she was gone.

Mikado blushed lightly as Masaomi supported himself more efficiently against him. "So, your house is…this way?"

"Nope, that way. Just keep walking; I'll tell you where to go." A pause. "Sorry, Mikado."

"Don't worry about it, Masaomi."

:::::

Uhhhh so is it obvious that I like writing fluff. ;A; These'll all be really short, so yeah, if you don't like short stories, please don't leave reviews complaining about it. xD


	3. Part 3

"How's your ankle?"

Masaomi smiled. "Oh, it's fine. Thanks for taking care of it the other day!"

"You're welcome. But, um, I'm sorry," mumbled Mikado guiltily, suddenly interested in the ground underneath where he was seated, feeling the heat that the concrete of the school roof had long since absorbed.

"Huh? About what?"

"I should have made sure you wouldn't fall, either."

Barking a laugh, Masaomi replied confidently. "C'mon man, you're all good. I'm just glad it was me, not you!"

Mikado sighed, giving in for the moment, and continued nibbling at his lunch. "Masaomi, do you know where Sonohara-san is today?"

"Not a clue! I wonder what she's up to…" mused the blonde. "Well, it can't be helped; it's just us today." He tapped his chin thoughtfully before breaking into a grin. "Hey, Mikado, isn't it kind of a romantic thing with us two eating lunch up here?"

Almost choking on the bite of food he'd been in the process of ingesting, Mikado tried to pretend that the thought didn't please him. "But best friends eat lunch together all the time, Masaomi." He was just being his usual joking self, right?

"But look- we're on the roof, sharing lunchtime together. The sky is a beautiful shade of blue, and there is a very slight breeze. We're even high schoolers! Mikado, it's just like a scene from a shojo manga~!"

Chuckling nervously, Mikado retorted, "You sound just like-"

"I know a way to make it even more cliché," declared Masaomi, cutting his friend off. "Don't move, alright?"

Mikado gulped. "What are you going to do?"

"You'll see!"

The blonde began to shift closer, avoiding putting weight on his ankle. With a satisfied hum, he dropped his head right into Mikado's lap.

The black-haired boy was at a loss for words. Surely Masaomi realized what this looked like, and yet he was still doing it anyways…?

"Mikado," whined his friend, "you're supposed to feed me my lunch now."

"I'm what?"

"Go on, don't be shy~!" A suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Considering his options and checking to make sure there was no one else up on the roof with them, Mikado tentatively extended his chopsticks over to grip a portion of Masaomi's meal. He brought it between the other's lips in a hesitant movement, but then drew back quickly as soon as the teen began to chew on it. Looking away, Mikado's cheeks warmed to a vibrant red. Why on earth did Masaomi want him to do this…?

After swallowing, the blonde male chortled to himself, staring peacefully up at his best friend's face. "You're too cute, Mikado."

…Okay. This was officially not a normal day spent with Masaomi Kida.

"Um…thanks?"

"Welcome! Now, I'm not hungry anymore, so I'll complete this Romantic Rooftop School Lunch Date by falling asleep on your lap. Wake me up when we have to go to class, alright, Mikado?"

And much to Mikado's surprise, Masaomi did just that.

:::::

I'm a lazy bum- I've had this written out for three days.

Thanks for the reviews I've gotten so far! C:

Note: I'm using the English method of first name, last name. Just in case anyone was confused~.


	4. Part 4

Sometimes, Mikado wondered to himself. He wondered about a lot of things- did he spend too much time on the computer? (no, he didn't spend near enough) Was he going to die young from having ramen every day? (yes, probably) What actually _was _the square root of three? (the calculator said 1.732, but he always thought it must have been something deep than that) But there was one subject he'd discovered that his mind contemplated more often than any of those:

Had his best friend finally gone insane?

"Hey, Mikado, you're really cuddly, you know that?" Masaomi's voice sounded right next to his ear. Mikado shifted nervously in the blonde's arms, offering a noncommittal almost-squeak in reply.

Another question. How had they gotten into this position, exactly? It must have been something to do with the homework that Mikado had decided to do early, leading to Masaomi getting grumpy at him for ignoring him, which lead to him tackling him into a hug, which led to-

Them cuddling on the floor. Ah, right.

It wasn't like snuggling was a rare activity among people, but…but…only girls, or couples, did that. Not best friends. Not Mikado and Masaomi.

As if to contradict that statement, Masaomi nuzzled his face into the crook of Mikado's neck, exhaling lightly and moving himself ever closer. It was…really warm. Really really warm.

Mikado found his eyelids drooping. Alright, so maybe this wasn't _too _bad…lying down side by side like lovers _with his best friend…_

"Hey, Mikado?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember that day on the roof, eating lunch? I fell asleep on your lap?"

"Ah…yeah?" Of course he remembered that; they'd ended up missing half of their next class because he'd been too hesitant to wake Masaomi up.

"And that time when you got….what was it…"

"…carpal tunnel?"

"Yeah, that? Remember that?"

Mikado nodded, knowing his friend could feel it. There was silence, then, as if Masaomi was reflecting on something.

"Did you know that those two girls in our class, Hoshi-chan and her friend, are dating now?"

Startled at the sudden topic change, Mikado took a moment to respond. "Ah, really? Good for them."

"Yeah…" Soft laughter puffed against Mikado's skin. "I guess it just goes to show that best friends can turn into more really easily. Regardless of gender, right?"

Was that…a double meaning? "I guess that's true." Finally, he could feel his body relaxing. Maybe it wasn't so wrong, what he felt for Masaomi Kida.

Mikado took a deep breath, turned over, and promptly panicked. What if Masaomi called him a girl, for being so shy, or thought it was funny? He really didn't want to be laughed at!

But Masaomi, for once, didn't say anything, only giving a surprise yet pleased hum, resting his forehead against his best friend's (if that even his title now- Mikado wasn't sure). Being around the same height, there was no way for Mikado to hide his face in Masaomi's hair or chest or anything else cliché like that; he closed his eyes instead.

"Are we telling Anri-chan?"

"Oh, uh…yeah. I guess we should."

"Yup, she deserves to know most of all."

"Right, she is our friend."

"Ah, well, that too, but…she was the one that made me realize about this whole thing, actually."

Mikado didn't really know how to answer that. He closed his eyelids yet again, not feeling sleepy or anything, just relaxing quietly in Masaomi's embrace.

::::

I feel that I've moved this too fast, but eh. I write this for enjoyment, that's all~.

How many chapters do you people want? C': I know they haven't kissed yet, so there'll be at least another one, but yeah. I'd like to know~.


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